


Legend of Cao Leirong - Two Kingdoms

by lorakintas



Series: Legend of Cao Leirong [3]
Category: San Guo Yan Yi | Romance of the Three Kingdoms - Luo Guanzhong, Shin Sangokumusou | Dynasty Warriors
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-17
Updated: 2021-03-17
Packaged: 2021-03-26 09:48:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30104103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lorakintas/pseuds/lorakintas
Summary: Cao Leirong and Sun Quan join forces to take down Shu.
Relationships: Xiahou Dun/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Legend of Cao Leirong [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2214366
Kudos: 1





	1. A New Union

Our world is now divided into three. My ultimate quest to take down Liu Bei and every single bit of Shu would be possible by simply using our forces, but Sun Quan’s Wu, who has attacked us at Chibi and Hefei, is now in a conflict with our main enemy. With Guan Yu taking over Jing province and Wu needing someone’s hand to take it back to them, it’s a perfect opportunity to weaken Shu’s forces. 

As I sit at the throne with my husband and Man Chong around me, a messenger comes to me with a message. 

“My lady! Lord Sun Quan is requesting an emergency meeting at Jianye!” the messenger says. 

“Perfect. Yuanrang, Boning, you’re coming with me,” I demand of them. 

“My lady, are you sure you’d like to help them?” Man Chong asks. 

“An alliance is our best chance to gradually shred Shu into pieces,” I explain. 

“What about Mengde’s vision? Wouldn’t you want to make his wish come true?” my husband asks. 

“We’re different people,” I tell both, “We don’t need a unified land; we need a peaceful one, and there can’t be peace while Shu exists. I want... A land split in two.” 

At a strategy room in Jianye, Xiahou Dun, Man Chong, Pang De and I discuss my idea with Sun Quan, Lu Xun, Lu Meng and Xu Sheng. 

“Two worlds, you say?” Sun Quan wonders. “Why is that? Wouldn’t you want an entire land for yourself?” 

“Who do you think I am, my brother?” I ask before laughing. “I don’t have such selfish desire. Don’t you think we can cohabitate peacefully?” 

“That would ruin my father’s dream...” Sun Quan admits. 

“Your father lived in a different time, my lord. Shu is a threat for both of us, and if they go away, we will be able to live in a peaceful land. Your kingdom in the south, our in the north,” I explain. 

“But what about their ideals of virtue and benevolence?” Lu Xun asks. 

“That is just an excuse to invade us further,” Pang De claims. “They will not rest until they have their wish accomplished while creating more chaos in the land. We need to protect ourselves and later attack them with all our strength.” 

“Besides, they haven’t given Jing back to you yet,” Man Chong points out. “What makes you think they’re trustworthy and truthful to their ideas?” 

“They have a point, my lord,” Xu Sheng says. “They could attack one of us anytime and expand their territory.” 

Suddenly, a messenger storms into the room. “My lord! Guan Yu and Zhang Fei are bound to invade Lukou!” they say. 

“These traitors!” Sun Quan yells as he slams the table. “We don’t have time to stand still! Ziming, defend Lukou! Take Boyan and Wenxiang with you!” 

“Yes, my lord!” Lu Meng says. The Wu men rush to their base. 

“My lady, we should depart too,” my husband suggests. “We should attack Zhang Fei and Guan Yu from behind through Fan Castle.” 

“Indeed. Yuanrang, head to Fan Castle now with Lingming and Boning!” 

“Yes, my lady!” Dun says. They also storm out of the room to head to Fan Castle, leaving me alone with Sun Quan. 

“My lady, I only asked for your help because you seem different from Cao Cao,” Sun Quan says. 

“I promise you won’t regret it,” I assured. “I expect greatness to come out of this.” 

At Fan Castle, we are about to finish our preparations with our Wei troops and Sun Quan. 

“Alright, we will be heading to Lukou in a moment. Boning, Lingming, I will leave you to garrison this castle,” I order. 

“Yes, my lady!” they say. 

“Everyone else, get on your horses and follow me!” I demand. 

As we approach the gates, I stop to give my command. 

“Today shall be the beginning of the end. We will eliminate Shu one step at a time. For the glory of Wei and Wu...” I say as I raise my sword. “Forward!” I yell as I point it to the front. 

We rush to Lukou with our horses. Halfway there, we see a Shu army. 

“Reinforcements?!” I yell confused. As the army approaches us, we see a bunch of teenagers and young adults heading our way. 

“Ugh, what are they doing here?!” I ask with frustration. 

“We don’t have a choice but to stop them,” says my husband. 

We stop our horses and get on the ground. The Shu army, composed of Guan Yu’s and Zhang Fei’s children, also gets on the ground. 

“We don’t have time to play with kids,” I say. “Go back to your parents.” 

“You will never hit our fathers!” shouts Guan Suo. He and Guan Yinping charge towards my husband and I. I block Guan Suo. We constantly attack each other for a while until I parry him. I take the chance to kick him in the air and do a backflip, kicking him to the ground. 

I try to stab him with my trident, but he dodges my attacks when he rolls on the ground. He gets up and swings his nunchakus against me, but I block them. We stand firmly apart from each other. 

He charges and swings his weapon again, but I evade his attack. I take the chance and slice his right side of the body, making several wounds on his skin that bleed from his stomach to his face. I give a fatal flow when inserting my trident in his neck. He does the suffocation singing and falls to the ground, making a puddle of red cells. 

I come to my husband to help him. I kick Yingping’s head from behind, stunning her. My husband charges his podao from the ground and throws her into the air, making a spectacle. 

“Now, Leirong!” my husband shouts. 

I jump below Yingping and stab her back. From there, I throw her to the ground. She bleeds like a low-energy fountain. We are done with two of the five enemies. 

“Now, leave, for your army’s sake,” I say. 

“Never! Everyone, charge!” Guan Ping orders. 

As they rush towards us, Sun Quan charges an attack while standing still. “Everyone, stand back!” he warns. He then unleashes a giant fire circle, making the ground shake and making the Shu army get burned. All their flags and the skin of many soldiers burn. They finally retreat. 

“That was amazing!” I tell Sun Quan. “You still have the power of Jiandong’s tiger!” 

“It’s something all of us have from our ancestors,” he tells me. “Our spirit can protect us when we need it the most.” 

“I thank you for your aid, my lord,” I tell him. “Now, we should move forward.” 

We resume our approach to Lukou. Once we are near there, we see the gates open. We get in there, and Zhang Fei and Guan Yu stopped the start of their fighting as we arrive. 

“Lady Cao? What you’re doing here?!” Zhang Fei asks. “You can’t be involved in this!” 

I laugh. “Who says I can’t?” I ask him. “I’m with them.” 

“If only I knew that beforehand...” Guan Yu says with a defeatist vibe. “I surrender.” 

“What?! Brother, you can’t give up!” Zhang Fei yells at him. “Well, then... I’ll take you down myself!” 

Zhang Fei rushes towards me with his spear. Xiahou Dun blocks him from the side. 

“You will not hit my lady!” Dun yells at Fei angrily. “If you do, you’ll pass through me first!” 

Zhang Fei attacks Xiahou Dun. They swing their weapons left and right, up and down, when suddenly Guan Yu charges for him. 

“Stop!” Sun Quan yells as he rushes to Guan Yu. They block each other. Now all four men are fighting for their lives. Sun Quan couldn't resist for long and fell to the ground as Guan Yu strikes him with his powerful blue dragon. 

“Master!” Lu Meng, Lu Xun and Xu Sheng shout. They strike Guan Yu from behind. The god of war then unleashes his full power with the spirit of the dragon, knocking them out with a strong thundershock. 

My husband also gets defeated by Zhang Fei after a long duel. He falls on his back in front of me. 

“My love!” I shout as I kneel next to him. I suddenly feel pain inside me. It feels like a growing rage in me. “I’m sorry, everyone...” I tell myself as Zhang Fei and Guan Yu charge towards us. 

“Lady Cao... Listen to your soul...” my husband tells me. 

I hear a voice from my brother saying “Use our strength within you, Cao Leirong. Let the phoenix awaken.” I start getting a lot stronger than usual. Then, I look up and I see both getting close to us. 

“I will not let you kill my beloved!” I shout, as I spin around and levitate both of us with a hurricane. I slice their weapons to the point of breaking with my twin tridents. I then stop and with both tridents inserted into their throats, I charge to the ground with a super-fast speed. 

We end up breaking the castle’s wall and creating a crater on the ground. I stand on my knees exhausted. As I look up, I see the two warriors lying breathless next to me. Part of evil is gone from my eyes. 

I go back to the castle, and I see Pang De and Man Chong coming to us with their horses. 

“Our lady is safe! Thank goodness! Man Chong says with relief. 

“We will celebrate later. Bring the medics!” 

“They’re already with us,” Pang De says. 

The medical team, along with peasants, carry the injured generals and soldiers to the capital. I rush to my husband. 

“Let’s go, I’ll carry you!” I tell him. I hold him in my arms as he screams in pain. I bring him to a chariot. We depart to the capital. While we are at our ride, I look at him resting his head on my lap as he sleeps. 

I have flashbacks of our happy memories together. I think of the time we used to hang out as teenagers with Xiahou Yuan and his brother at Luoyang, having fun with the locals before our training for battle got serious. I then think of the first kiss I had with Dun, where we were at a mountain, looking at the sunset while hugging each other. I start crying. 

“Please, darling, don’t be gone yet,” I tell him as he sleeps. He suddenly wakes up. 

“You’re crying? What’s wrong?” he asks me. 

“I don’t want you to die in front of me,” I confess to him. He laughs. 

“I’m fine. They’re just wounds. We survived getting shot in the eye; nothing can be worse than that.” 

“I know. I just really care about you.” 

“I know. And that’s why I love you,” he says as he caresses my cheek. I grab his hand and we stare at each other. He makes me calm down. 

As we arrive at Xuchang, I bring my husband to the nursery room, along with other peasants carrying the other generals. I put him in bed and hold his hand. 

“Stay still, ok?” I ask him to. 

“I know. Go visit the Wu officers. They may have something to say,” Dun tells me. 

I go visit the injured Wu generals and Sun Quan in the other room. 

“Lady Cao! I’m so glad to see you!” Sun Quan says aloud. 

“I was concerned about everyone’s well-being. Is everyone alright?” I ask them. 

“We are hurt, but we will recover,” Lu Meng says. 

“I’m glad to hear that, my lord,” I tell him. “We will do our best to make yourselves comfortable here.” 

“I thank you for your kindness, my lady,” says Sun Quan. “Once we’re recovered, we shall celebrate our union at Jianye.” 

“It would be my pleasure to be there, my lord,” I tell him. 

Weeks later in Jianye, we are doing a celebration at the main hall with all Wei and Wu officers involved. Sun Quan and I stand in front of a huge crowd. 

“People of Wu, we are about to create a new world!” Sun Quan claims. “With the help of the beloved Wei leader, we shall make a dream come true!” 

We pick up cups with wine to toast. 

“For Wei! For Wu! For a better future!” 

We toast and drink. The crowd celebrates. My eyes shine bright with the joy of imagining a peaceful world for both of us. A world where I will peacefully retire and my son will not have to face death in a battlefield. 

Later, I have a private conversation with Sun Quan at his place regarding his powers. 

“Zhongmou, where did you get your fire powers?” I ask him 

“This is one type of power that everyone from our lineage has,” Sun Quan explains to me. “Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang have theirs, and you have your own.” 

“My brother never told me about this.” 

“He probably wasn’t confident in you until his very end. You would find out about it sooner or later regardless. I’m afraid, however, you haven’t discovered its full powers yet.” 

“When will I discover them?” 

“When you need them. For now, keep doing your amazing work and let us plan our invasion to Yi province.” 

“Yes. Let us make our dream come true.”


	2. Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cao Leirong revisits Hanzhong to capture a castle. She shares moments and memories with her beloved.

A few years into our alliance, and it’s already been successful. Wu managed to take over Baidi Castle, giving Shu another blow to their power and morale. Liu Bei must be horrified at this point. Everyone knows his empire will fall sooner or later. 

Since Wu has taken their piece of the cake, it is time for us to get ours. Tomorrow, we will depart to invade Hanzhong and take the region back to us after our defeat years ago. 

Meanwhile, on a lovely night outside of Xuchang, my husband, my son and I hang out at a pond. Xiahou Mao trains with his spear and I sit next to Xiahou Dun as he fishes. 

“Stop that, son,” my husband says. “Come join us.” 

“I can’t. I need to be in my best shape for battle!” Mao tells Dun. 

I get up. I stop Mao’s training as I hold his weapon. He looks at me perplexed. 

“A tired man is no use in the battlefield,” I tell him. “Come. Let’s have a family moment.” 

Mao sits between his father and I. My son suddenly looks down to the ground, blankly staring at it. 

“...What’s wrong, son?” I ask Mao. 

“Mother, father, do I make you happy?” he asks us. 

“Is that even a question? Dun asks back. “What makes you think that?” 

“Look at me. I’m a failure. I only fought in Hanzhong and we’ve lost! I can’t do anything right!” Mao yells as he starts crying. “I’m sorry.” 

Xiahou Dun puts his rod down. We comfort our son. 

“It’s ok. You’ll have your moment,” my husband says. “I know you’ll become as great of a warrior as us. I think that since you were a baby on my arms.” 

“You’re still growing as a warrior. We love you regardless,” I tell my son as we hug him. 

“Mother, father... Thank you,” he says. “I promise I’ll make you even prouder of me in battle.” 

“Don’t do promises, just do it,” my husband tells him. “Now, I want to catch something for once. Stupid fish.” 

“You should go rest, son,” I suggest him. 

“Yes, mother,” my son says as he runs back to Xuchang. 

As he runs away, my husband finally catches another fish. 

“Come on! Get in here!” he yelled as he is pulling the fish. As it jumps, we see it’s a rather large fish that could make a good midnight meal. He gets it in his hand. 

“Keep it! We can cook it later,” I suggest Dun. 

“I’ll prepare us something nice with it, you’ll see,” he says. “We deserve it after so much battling.” 

Dun puts it in a basket. I hold his arm and rest my head on his shoulder. 

“Don’t fall asleep on me,” he says with a humorous tone. 

“I won’t, dummy!” I reassured him. “I just want to feel your touch, your love, your everything.” 

Dun puts his rod on his side again. “Okay, I give up. I can’t miss out on your cuteness,” he says. He hugs me and pushes me on top of him. We kiss deeply as Dun holds my neck on the back and I play with his hair. 

“Isn’t it funny we still do things as if we were still teenagers?” I ask Dun. 

“Our spirit may always be young, even if we are old and have a grown-up son,” he explains. “And when I’m around you, I fall for you as if it were the first time.” 

“You have problems,” I jokingly say. 

“I hate you,” Dun says back. We both laugh and kiss some more. 

“These fish are going to start smelling. Let’s go home,” I tell Dun. We pick up the basket and head home while holding hands. 

The next morning, I stand in front of my brother’s tomb. I give it flowers and stare at it, thinking of him. I think of us having good times at a park with our parents as kids. I think of all of our moments together in battle, when we helped each other and used our sibling love to defend ourselves. 

“Brother... Thank you for giving me your strength,” I say out loud. “Are you proud of me? Are you ok with my plans? Would you be mad if I don’t reunite the Han?” 

I start crying. 

“I just want to have you back. I miss you so much. I don’t know if I’m doing the right thing without you,” I tell him. 

Behind me, Pang De and Man Chong approach me with our plans. 

“My lady, are you alright?” Pang De asks. 

“I am. Thank you for asking, Lingming,” I tell him. “I just needed a moment with my brother.” 

“Our preparations for battle are nearly done,” Man Chong points out. “We have two castles in Hanzhong that are occupied by Shu forces, while the others are relatively unguarded.” 

“What would these castles be?” I ask Man Chong. 

“Yue and Han castle,” he tells me. “Most of the Shu forces are fatigued from Wu’s defeat at Baidi. We shouldn’t have a lot of problems retrieving Hanzhong.” 

“I see. I’ll use my son to redeem himself. I’m sure he will handle them with us around,” I say. “I thank you both for approaching me. Please, now go back to the capital and finish preparing our troops.” 

“Yes, my lady,” they reply. 

I’m left alone again. I turn to my brother’s grave again. 

“Brother, please protect us from above,” I tell him. “Lend us your strength.” 

The night before our departure, I sit alone on the couch, waiting for my husband to come home from training. I think that I should do something special for him before we approach the end of our journey with our troops. 

I head to the bathroom and I put water on the hot tub. I pick up some flowers I got from outside and throw their petals on the water. I light up some incenses, making the room smell of roses. When I get in the tub, I submerge myself and jump to the surface, shaking my hair around. I take time to look as clean as possible for my love once he comes back. 

Later, I make myself dry and put on a fur coat while still naked. When I leave the bathroom, Xiahou Dun comes home. 

“Hello, my-” he stops mid-sentence when he looks at me. 

“Hello, my love,” I greet him from afar with a seductive face. 

“Wow. You look stunning after all these years.” 

“Same to you.” 

I slowly do a catwalk towards him. 

“The next few days will be so hard. Come on, let’s have some fun,” I tell him before pushing him to my face with his coat. 

“Oh yes, please,” he tells me before kissing me. 

I hold his hand and drag him to the bathroom. I start undressing him while kissing him. I take off his belt, then his coat. He removes his protective armour, and then I rub his hairy chest with my hands. He gets shirtless. 

“Come to me,” I whisper to him on his ear. I walk back to the tub. He takes off the rest of his clothes and joins me there. I make his face wet with my hands full of water and pass my hands on his hair. 

“Do me, Dun,” I tell in front of him with a whisper. We kiss each other and our souls join themselves for a moment of intimacy for the rest of the night. 

The next morning, I wake up next to him. I take a moment to appreciate his raw beauty as I think of what to do regarding our departure. When I think of leaving the bed, Dun suddenly grabs my arm. 

“Please, stay,” he asks for, looking at me with puppy eyes. I can’t resist him, so I decide to join him again. We cuddle. 

“You’re usually not this needy,” I point out. 

“We won’t live for much longer and we may die in battle. I don’t want to miss a second of you when you’re around,” he tells me. 

“You’re right. And I’m scared.” 

“Scared of what?” 

“Of losing you, of failing... Of doing the wrong thing.” 

“I believe you’re doing the right thing, my princess.” 

“Xu Shu told me before passing away Liu Bei is a great man. He may be right.” 

“Are you kidding? Don’t you remember what he did to Wu?!” 

“What if Guan Yu and Zhang Fei invaded their territory by their own free will? What if Liu Bei truly means his virtue?” 

“Go back to your senses. He is the cause of trouble for us and Wu. We will never live peacefully until he’s gone. He is not the kind to surrender to us either.” 

“You’re right. I’m sorry.” 

“Don’t be. It’s ok to question yourself.” 

“I promise I’ll make our dream a reality.” 

“I know you will.” He kisses me and smiles before playing with my hair, bringing me back to a state of a calm before the storm. 

Later at the city square, I and our other generals and strategists make our final preparations before departing from there. 

“My lady! Our troops are ready to depart!” Man Chong tells me. 

“Perfect. Boning, I want you to come with me,” I tell him. 

“Uh... I’m sorry?!” 

“You don’t need to fight. Having you around will be essential for unexpected events, however.” 

“Understood.” 

Pang De, Yu Jin, Cao Ren and Cao Pi come to me. 

“We are ready to keep Xuchang safe, my lady,” Yu Jin tells me. 

“Thank you. I trust all of you to protect it from any invasion,” I tell them. “Zihuan, I want you to serve our citizens properly while we’re away.” 

“You can count on me,” Cao Pi says. 

I head to our attack team, where my husband and I will be part of it. We are split in two teams, where Xiahou Yuan, Xiahou Ba, Li Dian and Zhang He will invade Han Castle while I, Xiahou Dun, Xiahou Mao and the cat-beast Zhang Liao will invade Yue Castle. 

“Is everyone ready?” I ask them. 

“Oh yes! Let’s beat them all!” Xiahou Yuan shouts. “Of course, if your charm lets us, my lady.” 

“You never fail to put a smile on me,” I tell Yuan after laughing. 

Xiahou Dun hugs me from behind out of nowhere. “I'm ready too, sweetheart,” he whispers to me. I smile and kiss his hand. 

“Ah, how beautiful love is!” says Zhang He. 

“They can never let go of each other, it’s annoying,” confesses Ba. 

“Hey! Don’t talk bad about my parents!” Mao tells Ba. 

I approach my son and put my hands on his shoulders. 

“Son, do your best,” I tell him. 

“I will, mother. I promise,” he replies. 

“There is someone missing here...” 

I hear a strong stepping sound. I turn around, and I see our beast, Zhang Liao along with Li Dian. 

“My apologies, my lady,” Zhang Liao says. 

“You will be our greatest strength, Wenyuan. Thank you both for coming,” I tell them. I hop on my horse and get to the front. 

“There is no coming back. Brave warriors of Wei, it is time to make a new world. Everyone, forward!” I shout as I point my weapon to the horizon. We leave the capital with our full strength and energy to finally put an end to Shu. 

As we approach Yue castle, we pass through the area where I lost my right eye by an ambush led by whom I’d later discover it was Huang Zhong. I look visibly upset. 

“What’s wrong, mother?” my son asks. 

“You remember that place, right?” 

“Where we just passed? Yes, I do. You saved me. I don’t think I said this before, but every day I’m thankful to be here because of your sacrifice.” 

“Seeing you with me makes me so happy. Having my eye missing has been worth it. Now, son, I want you to take the lead once we’re near the castle.” 

“What?!” 

“It’s your chance to redeem yourself.” 

“Right.” 

We soon get on a hill that is in front of the castle. I order everyone to stop marching with my arm. The Shu guards don’t notice us yet. 

“Son, it’s your turn,” I tell him. 

“Yes, mother,” he says. He turns his horse around to face our army. 

“Everyone, we will go down the hill. Let’s split in three. Wenyuan and I will go to the front, Lady Cao attacks from the right and Yuanrang invades the left side,” he tells us. “Forward!” 

I rush to the right side with part of our army. I see the Shu army leaving my side’s door open with a flux of Shu soldiers coming out of it. Our armies clash with each other. 

Suddenly, a figure comes out from the background. It’s Guan Xing. He rushes and stops in front of me with his horse. 

“At last, we meet again, kid,” I tease him. 

“Don’t call me a kid!” he shouts at me. “You’ll pay the price for my father’s and brother’s death now!” 

“How boring. Let’s get over this.” 

We get out of our horses. We make our battle stances and staring intensely at us. We rush to each other and clash our weapons against each other. We block ourselves again after trying to hit each other from behind. He keeps trying to slice me with his blades while I dodge him by doing backward jumps. I jump on him and slice his cheek. We back off from each other. 

His face bleeds. He rubs his wound with his hand. 

“Why don’t you surrender? You can’t resist us,” I say. 

“I will never let go of our leader! I will follow him and die saving him!” he yells. 

“I appreciate your loyalty to your leader, but I’m afraid your journey will end here,” I tell him as I feel the spirit of the phoenix awakening. I yell and rush to him with superspeed. He tries to hit me, but I’m too fast for him. I jump around and slash him all over his body. I get on my knee with my arms raised while he falls on the floor, dead. “Fool,” I say to myself. 

I get inside the castle to look for my son, my husband and Zhang Liao. My son notices me. 

“Mother!” he yells. He approaches me with Zhang Liao. 

“Are you alright, son?!” I ask him. 

“I am thanks to Wenyuan. He helped me defeat Zhao Yun,” he tells me. 

“I’m so proud of you!” I tell my son as I hug him. 

“Hah, thanks mom,” he says. 

“And thank you, Wenyuan, you did a wonderful job. Now, where is Yuanrang?” I ask myself. 

I turn around and I see a figure walking slowly towards us. They seem to be injured. I then see it’s my husband. 

“Yuanrang!” I scream as I run towards him. He has arrows stuck on his back. 

“My darling...” he says before coughing. 

“What happened?!” 

“They hit me from behind... I’m sorry... I overestimated myself...” 

I cry in front of him, trying to think this is not real. 

“I... I’m fine!” he shouts as he stands up normally and removes the arrows from his back. 

“I hate you!” I yell to his face while crying and hugging him. “Don’t do this ever again!” 

“I’m sorry, love. I got bored of this battle.” 

“Well, then. Yue Castle is ours. We should camp here until we hear news from Han.” 

The night arrives, and my husband and I are in one of the empty houses that was formerly occupied by one of the Shu generals. We read a book together in bed to pass the time. We suddenly hear a knock on the front door. 

“I’ll get it,” Dun tells me. I watch him leave the bedroom, drooling on his aged, strong body that will hug me for the night. He comes back in a few seconds. 

“Han Castle has been taken. Their army is coming here,” he tells me. 

“Excellent,” I say out loud. “I won’t wait for them, though. I really want to sleep.” 

“What if they need us?” 

“Just let someone know they can settle here and we will head to Chengdu the next day.” 

“Sure, hold on.” 

Dun comes back to the front door. He comes back again later. 

“I let the messenger know that,” he says. 

“Thank you. Now, come to me,” I tease him while undressing myself. 

He joins me in bed. He hugs me, kisses me and plays with my body for a while. 

“Okay, we need to sleep now,” I tell him. “Goodnight, love.” 

“Goodnight, my princess,” he replies as he cuddles me. 

I now get in a peaceful state of mind after an easy battle. I have high hopes for what will come ahead. But for now, I’ll be in pure emptiness in my brain.


	3. End of the Dragon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cao Leirong and Sun Quan face Liu Bei to end Shu once and for all.

I wake up in pure darkness. Not a sound or an image anywhere. The ground has water. “Where am I?” I ask out loud. I walk around aimlessly. A door suddenly shows up. I open it, and a ray of light comes out of it; it hurts my eyes. 

I walk to a stairway that feels endless. Opaque music of a choir plays from the sides. The stairway finally ends in a platform. There, I see Cao Cao, sitting on a chair. “Brother?” I wonder. I approach him from behind. He turns around with his face completely void. He grabs me with immense force, not letting me go. He disintegrates into a portal, and I get sucked in there. 

I keep falling into an endless void. I hear screams of pain coming from all the soldiers and generals I had killed. I hear Xu Shu’s mom scream and spill blood on my face. 

I hit a floor that spawned out of nowhere. When I get up, I see Liu Bei with the children of Guan Yu standing in front of me. “You monster! You’ll pay for what you’ve done to us!” Liu Bei yells. They charge towards me while I’m defenceless. 

I wake up screaming. Xiahou Dun jumps from his side of the bed. 

“My lady? What happened?” he asks. 

“I had a horrible nightmare,” I confess to him. I look at his concerned eyes while I rest on my pillow. “Am I a monster?” 

“You’re not.” 

“All those innocent lives I took away in our battles, though... I shouldn’t be here. I should go rest in the skies for what I’ve done so far.” 

My husband grabs me on my back and pushes me towards him. 

“Don’t leave us behind,” he says. “I know the guilt you feel; however, it is our duty to go through those who stop us. You’re doing nothing wrong.” 

“Are you sure?” I ask him. 

“I am. I love you, and I believe in you. I do my best to make you happy. We will get through this together. Once the war is over, we won’t feel guilty anymore.” 

“Right. Thank you, darling.” 

He kisses my forehead and caresses my face. He puts me on my side of the bed and hugs me. I end up falling asleep again. 

The next morning, I go outside our resting place and greet the rest of our army. 

“Hello, my lady!” Xiahou Yuan greets me with a smile on his face. “I’m glad everyone’s alright!” 

“It was an easy fight,” I explain to them. “The Shu forces are too weak to fight us outside of their capital.” 

A messenger comes running to me. “My lady! Lord Sun Quan is requesting you to meet his army at Jiangzhou!” 

“Why am I not surprised they also invaded Jiangzhou?” I ask myself. “Alright, everyone. Get on your horses. We’re heading there now!” 

We depart from Yue castle to Jangzhou. Hours later, we approach the city. We see an unfamiliar face at the front of the gate. I approach him and get off my horse. 

“Welcome, Lady Cao” he says. 

“I assume you're one of Sun Quan’s generals?” I ask him. 

“I’m Lu Su, Sun Quan’s strategist. Please, call me Zijing.” 

“Nice to meet you, my lord. So, why are you standing here?” 

“My lord has asked me to. You can come in. I’ll guide you.” 

I go back to my horse. We follow Lu Su inside the rather desert city that probably got invaded while I was unconscious in bed. We stop at the front of the palace. I meet Sun Quan, where he sits on his throne with Lu Xun, Lu Meng and Xu Sheng next to him. 

“Welcome to our recently-dominated city, my lady,” Sun Quan says. “Thank you for bringing me them, Zijing.” 

“So, why are we here? Is there something you want?” I ask Sun Quan. 

“We thought it would be better to attack as a coalition instead of attacking separately from the north and the south,” says Lu Xun. 

“Would it make any difference, really?” my husband questions Lu Xun. 

“We can still split once we are close to the walls of Chengdu. However, it would be better to approach the capital as one unit at first to drop Shu’s morale,” he explains. 

“I still don’t think that would actually improve our performance. What do you think, my lady?” Xiahou Dun asks me. 

“We will attack Chengdu together with Wu,” I decide. 

“Perfect. Thank you for collaborating, my lady,” Sun Quan says. “We still need to finish our preparations for battle. Would you help us?” 

“Absolutely,” I confirm. 

“You’re so kind, my lady,” he tells me. “Alright, everyone, let’s resume our preparations!” 

We spend the whole day getting Wu’s army prepared to battle for the next day. At night, our army, along with Wu’s, take a break by the lake. I sit around a bonfire with Sun Quan and Lu Xun. 

“Finally, a break after so much work!” my husband says. 

“All the work we did today will be worth it tomorrow,” says Lu Xun. “A new world will come to us with our efforts, thanks to you, Lady Cao, and you, master.” 

I notice that Sun Quan looks apparently sad or concerned. 

“Zhongmou, may I ask you something?” I say to Sun Quan. 

“Yes, my lady,” he replies. 

“Are you with us because you truly believe in us?” I ask him. 

“I wish I could follow my father’s dream of a united Han,” he confesses, “but between causing more chaos for something that may never happen and peacefully living together with another kingdom, I will follow your wish.” 

“I hope you will keep your word, my lord,” my husband says. “You should be aware that we are making ourselves incredibly vulnerable for the sake of her wish.” 

“We promise to not break our alliance for our own interests,” Lu Xun says. “We are not Shu and it’s too late to back down anyway.” 

“Right,” I say. “I think it’s a good time for a toast.” 

Xiahou Dun and I get the cups and the wine. We fill them and give them to all four of us. We raise our cups. 

“Gentlemen, we will face a new future once tonight passes. Our phoenix will fly with the claws of the tiger,” I say out loud. 

“I wish luck and strength for us!” Sun Quan says. 

“For our lady!” Xiahou Dun says. 

“For our master!” Lu Xun says. We toast and drink. 

Later that night, in our bedroom, I get close to sleeping in bed. My husband stares at the ceiling, almost emotionless. I lay over him and caress his beard. 

“Something wrong, my lord?” I ask him. 

“I don’t trust Sun Quan,” he tells me. “Even if he is allied to us now, he still wants to follow his own plan, no matter how much he insists he doesn’t want to.” 

“So what?” 

“What if we destroy Shu and then Wu betray us?” 

“We are too old to worry about that. What Wu will do once we’re a land of two is up to our son’s generation. Eliminating Shu is what matters to us right now.” 

My husband sighs. 

“Am I right?” I ask him. 

“Yes,” he confirms. “You just made me think of a world without us.” 

“Let’s use as much of our time to be together. I won’t depart from this world without you,” I tell him before kissing him. 

“I know. Thank you,” he says as he plays with my hair. I end up sleeping on him. 

In the morning, our armies standstill outside the city, ready to depart to Chengdu. Sun Quan and I slowly ride our horses to our positions. My hands shake because of how nervous I am to start the ultimate battle. 

Once we stand in the front, I look at the horizon. I sigh and raise my sword. I start my speech. 

“Everyone, you know what to do,” I say out loud. “Let’s end Shu for once. Forward!” 

Our immense armies depart to our final destination in a journey that has been lasting decades. In every part we pass through, we make a little earthquake and a lot of noise. 

Hours later, we approach Chengdu. We ride faster with our horses. I notice the city’s walls with no guards and archers. “What’s going on?” I ask myself. “This is too unusual. They must be planning something.” 

Suddenly, a barrier made out of something mystical stops our advance. 

“This must be something Zhuge Liang has done,” Sun Quan thinks out loud. 

“Our battering rams don’t work,” Xu Sheng warns us. 

“I will try something,” I tell them. “Everyone, stand back. Please, brother, give me your strength.” 

I feel the power of the phoenix flowing in me. I hold my dual tridents tightly and do my battle stance. I charge to the barrier, yelling. I jump and stab the barrier with all my strength. It rapidly disintegrates. I fall to the ground tired. 

“My lady, are you alright?” my husband asks after rushing to help me with Lu Meng. 

“I’m fine,” I tell them, “I’m just not totally used to this power. The archers will show up anytime now.” 

“Unleash the siege towers and battery rams, now!” Lu Meng demands from our armies. “I will join Sun Quan for now. Take care, my lady.” 

My partner picks me up from the ground. 

“I could’ve done that myself, you know?” I tell him. 

“Oh, you’re so ungrateful,” he says. 

“I’m kidding. Thank you,” I say to him before hugging him. 

One of the siege towers reaches our side to the castle. 

“I must head there now!” I tell my husband. 

“I will come with you!” he tells me. 

Before we manage to reach the siege tower, two horsemen from Shu jump from the castle walls. It’s Ma Chao and Ma Dai. They attack us mounted, but we knock them out from their horses with dodge attacks. 

“Damn you, Wei...” says Ma Chao. “Face my spear of justice!” 

He charges with his spear against me. He thrusts his spear against me, and I jump on it. I slash his face. He falls on the ground with his face full of blood. He covers it with his hands. 

“Try harder,” I tease him. 

He gets up and charges me again. He does a spinning attack. I do a backwards jump and dodge him. We keep blocking each other's attacks several times afterwards. He does a front attack that I end up parrying. I do a flip and kick him against his cousin. They both hit each other and get dizzy. 

“Now!” I yell to my husband. We charge to both of them. We slash their bodies with an aerial attack, throwing them to the ground. Their whole bodies bleed. 

“It’s... It’s not over yet,” says Ma Chao attempting to grab his spear. I stab his neck. He struggles some more and meets his end there, on the ground. 

“We don’t have time to lose. Quick! To the castle!” my husband says to me as he grabs my hand. We head to the siege tower. We climb it and get into the castle. We defeat the archers that surround us at the top of the walls. When we go downstairs and head to the city centre, I see Zhang Liao and Lu Xun fighting Zhao Yun. Sun Quan and Lu Meng come to us. 

“We need to pursue Liu Bei! To the throne!” Sun Quan says to us. 

We leave the other Shu enemies to the rest of our team and run to the main hall. We encounter Zhuge Liang in front of the closed gate where Liu Bei is likely hiding at. “Zhuge Liang, your time is up!” I shout to him. We rush to him. Zhuge Liang suddenly casts a spell and hits me. I fall on the floor unconscious. 

I wake up at an arid platform lit up in the middle of darkness. “Where am I?” I ask myself as I get up. A figure that resembles Cao Cao emerges from the ground. 

“You’re pathetic! Is this the legacy you want from our family?!” he asks. 

“What?! No... This can’t be real,” I tell myself. “What should I do...?” 

My brother charges to me. I end up facing him. When I try to slice him, it goes through him. He hits me hard to the point of making me fall on the floor. 

“Ugh... Where did my strength go?! Why can’t I hit him!?” I ask myself. 

Suddenly, a podao tries to hit me. I roll on the ground and get up from the ground. I see a figure resembling my husband. 

“You’re not the woman I know,” he says. “I should kill you for betraying me.” 

“Nonsense!” I yell at him. “Zhuge Liang, why you’re doing this to me?!” 

“Begone!” they shout pointing their swords at me. A ray of light surges from the tips of their weapons. I react quickly and use my weapons to deflect the lighting. It hits both of them. They explode into little particles that clash with my body. I scream in pain and get on my knees. 

“So, you’ve made it all the way here...” Zhuge Liang says while he walks in the air to the platform. 

“You...! You dare to use my loved ones to destroy me?!” I angrily ask him. 

“Destroy you? I was helping you.” 

“Huh?!” 

“I’m the one who will end your life, once and for all!” 

Zhuge Liang has his spirit glowing around him. He screams in pain as he gets a tail, gets claw and his skin turns green with scales. He also gets yellow lizard eyes. He does an earthquake with his thunderbolt as he growls. 

“No... I can’t defeat this with my own strength...” I say to myself. 

“Come, Lady Cao. Show me your strength,” Zhuge Liang says. 

As I was getting ready to attack, I see my weapons glowing. The glow gets through my body. I scream as get on my knees, trying to hold my weapons. I feel a pair of wings and a tail grow on my back. I get blue plums on my skin. My eyes get wider and blue. I screech as I slash the air with my blades, causing the wind to spiral everywhere. 

“Come!” Zhuge Liang shouts. 

We rush with our full strength to the middle of the arena. We clash our weapons, causing a huge blinding explosion to implode between us. I hear Zhuge Liang’s scream. Everything goes white. 

I wake up with my husband holding me in his arms. 

“My lady! Wake up!” my husband shouts at me. 

I open my eyes and see him along with Sun Quan and Lu Meng next to him. I look around and don’t see Zhuge Liang anywhere. 

“... He’s gone,” I tell them. 

“Zhuge Liang is gone?” Sun Quan asks, confused. 

“He was the one tormenting my unconscious side of the brain. He won’t haunt anyone now.” 

“The door is open! To Liu Bei!” Lu Meng shouts. 

When we see Liu Bei, he is sitting on his throne with his twin swords attached to the ground. He doesn’t seem to be dead. I feel a strange energy in the room. 

“Yuanrang, Ziming, leave!” I demand them. 

“My lady...” my husband says while looking upset. 

“Leave, now!” Sun Quan shouts at them. They leave the throne, leaving us three there. 

“Liu Bei! Your time has come! Surrender or die!” I yell at him. 

Liu Bei stays silent for a few seconds. He finally manifests. 

“All I wanted is a world of virtue and benevolence,” he says. 

“Your ideas are all lies! You just want to cause chaos in the land for your own interests!” says Sun Quan. 

“You can think all you want,” he says as he grabs his twin swords, “I will not surrender!” 

He gets powered up. He transforms into a dragon, in a similar way Zhuge Liang did in my unconscious, with bigger and stronger blades. 

“The land of benevolence shall thrive with my last sweat and my blades!” Liu Bei shouts. “Come, mere mortals! Face me if you dare!” 

“Hah! We’re not mere mortals! I am a Cao!” I shout as I hold my blades that transform me. “Our legacy shall live on in a new world! A world without a ruler! A world of ambition and talent! My father and my brother will not have their efforts left in vain!” 

“The strength of the Tiger of Jiandong lives within me!” Sun Quan shouts as he gets his transformation ongoing. “The Suns will never surrender to your land of naivety and lies!” 

I transform into a humanoid phoenix and Sun Quan transforms into a humanoid tiger. Our weapons have grown bigger and supercharged. I have the full power of the wind while Sun Quan has the flames of the tiger. 

“This can’t be...” Liu Bei says. “There are other mystics besides us from Shu?! It doesn’t matter. Your lives end here!” 

Liu Bei unleashes large waves of electricity with his blades. Sun Quan and I mix our powers to create a fire hurricane. It disperses Liu Bei’s attacks and sets the whole throne in flames. Liu Bei gets disorientated. Sun Quan charges to him with amazing speed and swings his sword in flames to the top of the throne, destroying the ceiling. I fly to Liu Bei and slash him with a powerful move, throwing him to the ground outside the city like a meteor falling on Earth. 

I attack him from the air, aiming at him. He dodges me to the ground and hits me with his blades. He keeps attacking me with a string of powerful lighting attacks. When he flies in the air, he charges to me for a final blow. Sun Quan stabs him from the side and drags him away from me. He pulls out his sword, blowing fire from Liu Bei’s wound. Liu Bei knocks Sun Quan away from him. 

He tries to attack me again. I fly above him and stab him from behind. My blades unleash a gust of powerful wind, dragging him further on the ground. Sun Quan does a torpedo move with his sword blasting flames around him. He hits Liu Bei, leaving him up in the air. I slice Liu Bei in several areas around his body with immense speed. 

I kick him in the air and get above him. I charge my weapons for a fatal blow. They glow and perform a giant whirlwind that travels at super speed. “Begone!” I shout as I unleash it. Liu Bei screams in pain as he gets hit by the whirlwind. He disintegrates mid-air. 

Suddenly, I lose my powers and come back to normal. I fall. My husband rushes to catch me from the air. 

“A beautiful woman has fallen into my arms!” he says after grabbing me. I am in his arms with a bridal pose. I chuckle. 

Liu Bei’s twin swords get attached to the ground after falling from the sky. 

“He’s gone...” I say out loud. 

“Indeed, he’s gone.” my husband says. 

He lets go of me. Sun Quan and Liu Bei approach us. 

“Liu Bei is gone! Victory is ours!” Sun Quan shouts. We raise our swords in victory.


	4. A New World

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cao Leirong and Xiahou Dun retire from their positions to go on a new path.

Xuchang looks fully decorated with colourful festive objects at the buildings and nature, and full of people from both Wei and Wu celebrating our victory, talking and dancing with each other as if a rivalry never happened at all. I wave to our smiling citizens as our army walks to the city centre for our ceremony. 

I hop out of my horse and head to the altar. There, I meet Sun Quan. We greet and get our drinks. I start my speech. 

“Citizens of Wei and Wu! A new world has begun! A world of peace and prosperity between two kingdoms!” I speak. 

“There will be no evil in this land thanks to you, Lady Cao, and the dedication of our armies!” Sun Quan says. “For the glory of Wu and Wei!” 

The civilians cheer. 

Outside Xuchang, while everyone else does a feast with food and drinks inside the city, I talk to my brother at his grave. 

“I made it, brother,” I tell him. “Are you proud of me?” 

“I am, for sure,” my husband says coming from behind. 

“Oh, darling! I thought you’d stay with the others at the banquet.” 

“You know you’re a bigger priority to me than a party.” 

Xiahou Dun hugs me. I rest my head on his shoulder. 

“So, you’ve reached your goal. What are we going to do next?” my husband asks. 

“There is no point in governing anymore,” I tell him. “I want to escape. Go to where our heart desires.” 

“My lady... I will go whenever you will go,” he tells me holding my face and looking at me straight to my eyes. I smile. 

“You’re the best person ever,” I say before kissing him. 

A week later, I sit at the throne with my husband next to me. Cao Pi is on his knees with a stance of respect to the leader. 

“Zihuan, once you take my position as Emperor of Wei, I expect you to listen and take care of our people, and keep our relationship with Wu stable. Will you promise to do that?” I ask Cao Pi. 

“My lady, I have my own ambitions. As one from Wei, however, I shall do your request for the sake of our people,” he says. 

“I appreciate your individuality. I know you will be a worthy successor,” I tell him. 

“We should depart now. Follow us,” Xiahou Dun says to Cao Pi. 

As we leave the city hall, we see our citizens mourning our departure. We head to the main gate of Xuchang, holding our horses and with Cao Pi, Cao Ren, Zhang Liao, Xiahou Ba, Xiahou Yuan, Zhang He, Li Dian, Man Chong, Yu Jin and Pang De following us to say their last goodbyes to us. 

My husband and I stop just outside the gate. 

“My lady, are you sure you need to do this?” Xiahou Yuan asks. 

“It’s my destiny. I believe that our kids are strong enough to carry our legacy,” I tell them. 

“I promise as our new grand commander I will keep Wei safe from any threat!” Xiahou Ba says with pride. 

“That’s my son!” Yuan cheers. 

“I’m counting on you, boy,” Dun says to Ba. 

“Mother, father, please don’t go!” our son says as he hugs me and cries. 

“Son, we love you,” I tell him as I play with his hair, “but it’s time to find your path.” 

“We will always be with you, spiritually,” my husband tells our son as he hugs him from behind. “I know you will do fine without us.” 

“Mother, father, thank you. I promise to do my all when needed,” he tells us as he lets us go. 

Dun and I get on our horses. We turn to the side of our people. 

“Everyone... Thank you,” I tell them as I cry with joy. 

They wave goodbye to us as we depart. 

And since then, we have never been seen again.


End file.
